There are lots of recipes for tsoureki out there ... This one makes a brioche tasting type of dough, but it's a really fragrant brioche we're talking about!
Other than Easter, when tsoureki is usually served with coffee at the end of the holiday meal, this bread can be eaten year-round as a snack or for breakfast. Try it toasted with some orange marmalade on top.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup lukewarm water
2 tablespoons sugar for the yeast
1 to 1 and 1/4 cups sugar for the dough
4 large eggs
1 cup milk, lukewarm
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup milk, lukewarm
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled, reserved to be used at the end of kneading.
2 teaspoons ground mahlepi see note
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
rind from 1 large lemon
rind from 1 large orange
1 mastic tear see note
7 to 8 cups bread flour, plus more flour if needed for a light dusting of your work area.
1 teaspoon salt
parchment paper for the pans
parchment paper for the pans
1 egg yolk, beaten and mixed with 1 tablespoon milk and 1 tablespoon of sugar to make an egg wash for topping
Sliced almonds and/or sesame seeds to be used for topping
Directions:
Directions:
- All the ingredients must be at room temperature.
- Grind up the mahlepi seeds to give you two teaspoons of ground up mahlepi.
- Grind the mastic tear. Some recipes call for more mastic but this recipe calls for lots of flavourings, therefore, one mastic tear will suffice. Well ... okay, you can use the largest mastic tear in the jar!
- Mix the sugar with all the citrus zest, the mahlepi and the mastic.
- Reserve 2 tablespoons of flour out of the total amount of flour the recipe calls for.
- In a medium-sized bowl mix the yeast with the warm water.
- Add the reserved 2 tablespoons of flour and the 2 tablespoons of sugar.
- Stir, then let stand in a warm place until the mixture bubbles and foams and begins to rise, about 15 minutes. The mixture must rise, which is an indication that the yeast is still active. If the mixture doesn't rise, the dough will not rise. C
- In the bowl of an electric mixer and using the paddle attachment, beat the eggs.
- Add the sugar with its flavourings; mixing them into the sugar distributes them evenly.
- Add the milk.
- Add the salt.
- Add 10 tablespoons of the melted butter.
- Add the vanilla
- Stir in the yeast mixture.
- Keep beating at low speed until incorporated.
- From now on, you will need to use the dough hook with your electric mixer, so go ahead and change to it.
- Add the flour, one cup at a time, beating well at low speed after each addition. Keep scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Gradually a dough will begin to develop which will be sticky.
- Keep beating on low, adding small portions of your flour just until the dough stops clinging to the sides of the bowl.
- The dough should be soft and really pliable.
- Remove the dough from the mixer and place it in a large bowl. Pour the last four tablespoons of butter over it and knead gently. Form the dough into a round shape.
- Cover the bowl (not the dough; cover the top of the bowl) with a piece of plastic wrap and one or two or three clean towels. Leave in a warm place free of drafts.
- Let the dough rise until it has doubled in bulk, about 3 to 4 hours.
- Yeast is the ingredient that makes tsoureki (or any type of bread) rise, and as yeast is a live thing it is sensitive. Outdoor conditions such as humidity, heat, or cold, influence the manner in which yeast behaves. Tsoureki is more temperamental than regular bread dough because tsoureki is an enriched bread, meaning it contains heavier ingredients such as eggs and butter. If it's cold outside, it might not rise as quickly. If it's too hot ... If it's humid.... well you get the picture. Just do your best and keep in mind that practice makes perfect. A friend purchased an electric blanket which is reserved only for tsoureki duty. She covers her dough with this electric blanket so that it can rise at an optimal temperature. She reports that all her tsoureki troubles are now over and her dough rises beautifully.
- This recipe, even though it requires patience during the rising, makes a very fragrant and tasty tsoureki. I guarantee that you will be overjoyed with the way this Easter bread tastes.
- Once the dough has risen prepare to roll it out. Don't punch it down. Gently separate the dough into 2 even sections. Take each section, cut it into 3 pieces, and roll each piece into a rope, each about 14 to 15 inches in length.
- Braid the ropes as though you are braiding long hair. Don't braid too tightly so that the tsoureki can bake evenly.
- You will get two Easter loaves, or you could separate the dough into smaller sections to get a third loaf. Baking time will vary according to the size of the loaves.
- At this point preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Place each braid on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.
- Cover with a towel and let rise for about an hour until it has doubled in bulk.
- Using a pastry brush, gently apply the egg wash and sprinkle with the almonds (or use sesame seeds for some of the loaves).
- Bake approximately 30 minutes until the tsoureki is golden in colour. Keep an eye on the oven because baking time varies with each oven.
- The tsoureki will be ready when the blade of a knife inserted into the centre of a loaf comes out clean.
- Let the Easter bread cool for about 20 minutes to half an hour before slicing.
Tsoureki can be stored in the refrigerator. It can be eaten cold, at room temperature, or even toasted. You can even freeze some to have on hand later on.
Note: Information about mahlepi is found here.
